EDITORIAL INTRALOGISTICS & DISTRIBUTION Keeping an eye on digital security Did you know that every product dispatched via a parcel service company actually generates around 130 data records? With online trade dispatching around 2.5 billion parcels via courier, express and parcel services in Germany each year, this sector alone generates an unimaginable amount of data. Collating and analyzing this data provides dispatchers with the option of ensuring that developments are increasingly focused on market requirements or that targeted marketing and sales promotions can be developed. Analyses of consumer behavior also prevents overproduction and ensures that logistic processes and sequences are structured and organized more effectively and designed more efficiently. Basically, it provides companies with a multitude of opportunities to improve their internal structure and generate competitive advantages. However, where does the data that is required (or not) come from to get a grip on the big data? Internally, this certainly includes data recorded by each sensor system, RFID, warehouse management programs and the ERP and PPS systems. Data transmitted via smartphones and generated by the social media channels must also be included. To cut a long story short, this large volume of data needs to be collated and organized in a way that is appropriate for the purpose. Although up to this point, it does seem promising for companies, it also has its drawbacks. The data also generates an interest from outside the company itself. Every day there are cyber attacks on the global Internet that can cause a lot of damage for the companies concerned. According to a report by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), there were 560 million known malware programs in August 2016. Officially, more than 1.7 million company websites are currently classified as compromised on a blacklist generated by Google and Co. Security is thus a top priority. A matter that has even become an important issue in Berlin. The government of the Federal Republic of Germany is working on a strategy to counteract digital carelessness. These measures include promoting the use of encryption technologies and developing security seals of approval for IT products, as only by working together will we be able to spoil the fun cyber criminals have. Winfried Bauer Editor-in-chief (w.bauer@vfmz.de) Publisher: Dipl.-Ing. Reiner Wesselowski (We) Email: r.wesselowski@vfmz.de Editor-in-chief: Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Winfried Bauer (WB), Email: w.bauer@vfmz.de Editorial board: Dipl.-Medienwirtin (FH) Marie Krueger (MK), Holger Seybold (Sey) Dipl.-Ing. Manfred Weber (MW) Assistant editor: Svenja Stenner Design/Layout: Sonja Schirmer, Doris Buchenau, Anette Fröder, Mario Wüst E-Paper designer: Katja Rüdell, Mathias Göbel Managing editor: Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Winfried Bauer Publishing house: Vereinigte Fachverlage GmbH Lise-Meitner-Str. 2, 55129 Mainz, Germany Commercial Register No.: HRB 2270, District Court of Mainz VAT-ID: DE149063659 Managing director: Dr. Olaf Theisen Publishing director: Dr. Michael Werner, Email: m.werner@vfmz.de Correspondent India: Sushen Haresh Doshi M.Sc. Advertising sales director: Beatrice Thomas-Meyer Email: b.thomas-meyer@vfmz.de Advertising sales manager: Andreas Zepig, Email: a.zepig@vfmz.de Advertising representatives: Austria Heinz-Joachim Greiner Email: verlagsbuero-greiner@vfmz.de China, India Andreas Zepig, Email: a.zepig@vfmz.de France Marc Jouanny, Email: marc-jouanny@wanadoo.fr Great Britain, Ireland Roberto Tondina, Email: roberto@ts-communications.co.uk Italy, Switzerland Hermann Jordi, Email: info@jordipublipress.de Sweden, Finland, Norway Malte Mezger Email: verlagsbuero-mezger@vfmz.de USA, Canada Bill Fox, Email: bfox@hfusa.com Advertising management: Annemarie Benthin, Email: a.benthin@vfmz.de In cooperation with: Hannover Fairs International GmbH Messegelände, 30521 Hannover, Germany VDMA – German Engineering Federation Trade Association Materials Handling and Intralogistics Lyoner Straße 18, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany Additional Partner: Moskauer Deutsche Zeitung Internet: www.en.engineering-news.net 9 th year (2017)